USA > Missouri > DeKalb County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 25
USA > Missouri > Andrew County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 25
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
for a number of years Another prominent settler in the vicinity of Savannah was Hon. Benjamin K. Dyer, the first commissioner of the county seat who made an improvement about one mile and a half west of the present limits of the city. John B. Collier, one of the first surveyors, settled near Savannah late in the thirties, as did also Col. William Yates and Jonathan Earles, the former purchasing land north of the town, and the latter locating on the place now owned by Rudy Borne, a short distance east.
About the same date Prince L. Hudgens, one of the promi- nent lawyers of the Platte country, settled four miles northwest of Savannah, but subsequently moved to the city, in the early growth and development of which he took an active and con- spicuous part. He was admitted to the bar at the first session of the circuit court, and, in addition to his labors as an attorney, ministered for a number of years to the Christian Church of Savannah. of which denomination he was an able and popular preacher.
Duke Young and his three sons settled near the present site of Savannah late in the thirties or early in 1840, as did also a Mr. Petrie and Reuben Dougherty, the latter having been one of the first settlers of the town after its location.
Henry Todd moved to Andrew County from Indiana in 1837, and made his first improvements on the place owned at this time by Edward Phillips, about three miles northeast of Savannah in Nodaway Township. He disposed of his claim within a short time, and, after living in various parts of the country, moved to Gentry County, where his death occurred in 1870. His three sons, Moses, Isaac and John H., grew to manhood in Andrew County; the last named, a prominent business man of Savannah, being one of the oldest residents of the county now living. John Evans and Barnabas Adkins, sons-in-law of Todd, came the same year, and settled in the same locality, both making improvements upon what is now known as the Cofer farm.
The Edward Phillips place, a few miles northeast of Savannah, is the site of one of the first improvements in Nodaway Township, one Joseph Hurst locating there as early as the year 1837. Mr. Hurst was a conspicuous figure among the early settlers, hav- ing been a very large man, tipping the beam at a fraction over
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
300 pounds. During a revival meeting held by a pioneer minister of the Baptist persuasion he identified himself with the church, and is said to have been the first person baptized in the One-Hundred-and-Two River. He had three sons, Edward, Hiram and William Hurst, who came the same year, and who bore a conspicuous part in the early developments of their re- spective communities. Among other early settlers of Nodaway Township were John Cox, three miles northeast of Savannah; Samuel Coffman, in the same neighborhood; a Mr. Wilson, an early school teacher three miles north of the county seat; John Stener, six miles north, where he still lives; Mr. Stanberry, on the One-Hundred-and-Two River; Mr. Cook, in the same locality ; Calvin James, northwest of Savannah; Mr. Smith and sons, John, Ahi, Samuel, "Alie," and Logan; the Davidson family, con- sisting of the father and three sons, "Ned," James and Anderson; Fred Wyatt, Mr. Nichols, Nicholas Graham, F. Owens, Samuel Woodcock, William Ellis, Henry Bain, Greenbury Mullmix, Benjamin McCrury, William Burs, Henry Selecman, all of whom became residents as early as 1844. and several of them four and five years anterior to that date.
Edwin Toole settled a short distance south of Savannah late in the thirties, but subsequent to 1841 moved to the town, and took charge of the circuit and county clerk's offices, to which position he was chosen at the organization of the county. In this connection should be mentioned the name of Rev. E. A. Car- son, a native of Tennessee, who in company with his father-in- law, Joshua Ewing, came to Andrew County from Virginia in 1840, and settled in the Stanton neighborhood, northwest of Savannah. He purchased a claim of an early settler by the name of Nuckols, and, after improving and residing upon the same for four years, moved to Savannah, where he has since resided. He was one of the earliest Presbyterian preachers in Andrew County ; preached the first public discourse ever delivered in Savannah, and assisted in the organization of many of the early churches of his denomination in the Platte country. He held the office of county clerk for a number of years, and it is universally conceded that the county was never served by a more painstaking and efficient officer.
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
EARLY SETTTERS OF JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
As already stated, the Crowley and Todd families were among the first to introduce civilization into that part of Andrew County known as Jefferson Township. The region afforded peculiar ยท advantages to the pioneer in the way of water, timber and game, while its primitive fertility entranced every beholder to such an extent that it was eagerly sought in preference to other equally favorable localities. Among the first to seek a home in this part of the county was William Deakin, a member of the first county court, whose arrival antedated the year 1839. He bore a con- spicuous part in the early county legislation, and appears to have been a man of sound sense and excellent judgment.
James Herren settled near the central part of the township, on Dillon Creek, in 1837; and one year later Abraham Dillon, after whom the creek was named, located in the same neighbor- hood, and erected a small saw and grist mill, which was afterward well patronized. Peter P. Fulkerson settled on Dillon Creek as early as 1838, and was the first physician in the southern part of the county. Willis Gaines and Daniel B. Holman settled in the Crowley neighborhood prior to 1839; and others who came about the same time were a Mr. Moody, Benjamin Porter, Zachariah Moreland, Joseph Wagers, Richard Miller and Moses Cochran. The last named died within a short time after his arrival, and was buried in December, 1837, near Dillon Creek, his funeral having been one of the first, if not the first, in the county. Mr. Crowley relates that the coffin in which the body was enclosed was a hastily improvised affair, made of walnut puncheons, fastened to- gether with strong hickory pins.
Additional to those enumerated above were the following, who came from time to time, and settled in various parts of the town- ship: Martin Sutton (an early judge of the county court), David Claypool, Reuben Claypool, William Blankenship and sons (Cole, Thomas and " Breck"), Charles Caples, Roger B. Pollard, George Comigee, Preston Richardson, James Owsley, Jacob Coff- man and sons (Leroy and Thomas), William Richardson, Thomas and Christopher Todd, Frank M. Holman, Wesley Copeland. The Bright family, Conrad Eisaminger and John Eisaminger, across the line in Nodaway Township; John Spence, John Thomp-
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
son, Isaac K. Wright, Joseph Gibson, William Brown, William Pyburn (who settled originally near the present site of Savannah ), Elvis Sloan, Mr. Daniels, William Hudson, David Hoppins, a man by the name of Hawkins (an early surveyor), Jackson Fly, William Burnett, John Howell, - - Howell, Mr. Kent, James Gore, William and Samuel Ardray, Rev. David Ray, Samuel Miller and sons (William, Young E. and Finis Miller), Jesse Cox, Eli Hughes, Peter Cox, Y. E. Hughes, Benjamin Riddle, Mr. Beeler, Cornelius Gittam, Joshua Jenkins, A. G. Guthrie, Claiborne Davis, Robert Jones, a Mr. Spence and sons (John, James and Andrew), Harris Tharpe, Ozro Castle, Speed P. Wil- son, B. Thornton and others. Some of the foregoing may have settled in the adjoining township, but if so the fact was not so given to the writer.
SETTLEMENT OF TOWNSHIPS.
LINCOLN.
The settlement of that part of Andrew County embraced within the present bounds of Lincoln Township dates from a very early day, and, as already stated, the first settler of the county, Joseph Walker, chose his home in the northern part of it in the year 1836. Quite a number of settlers in the same locality have already been enumerated. The southern part of the town- ship was settled as early as 1837, at which time several families located not far from the present site of Amazonia, among whom is remembered one James Irwin, who pre-empted a claim about a mile and a half east of the above village, where John Mosser now lives. Mr. Irwin moved from Clay County, but does not appear to have remained very long, selling out in an early day to Joseph Jenkins, and emigrating to another State. William Clemmens was perhaps the next settler in the locality, his ar- rival being fixed 'in the fall of 1837. He came from Ray County also, and, after having selected his claim, about a mile and a quarter east of Amazonia, returned for his family, and the following spring found them all domiciled in their new home in the wilderness of the Missourias. Mr. Clemmens was a true
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
type of the pioneer-a skillful hunter and trapper-and seems to have settled in this country to escape the encroachments of civ- ilization, for the customs and usages of which he appears to have had the most profound contempt. All he wanted was " elbow room," and after the settlers became numerous in the vicinity of his home he went to Oregon, in which State his death subse- quently occurred. His widow is still living in Lincoln Town- ship, being the oldest person at this time in Andrew County.
K. G. Bond was an early settler in the southern part of Lin- coln, moving from Indiana in 1838, and locating what is now known as the Dallesbaugh farm, a short distance from Amazonia. After a few years on his original purchase he moved to Clay County, but subsequently returned to Andrew, where his death occurred in 1867. His son, Hon. Joshua Bond, came in 1838 also, and has made his home in the county ever since, his present place of residence being the town of Amazonia. He has taken an active interest in county affairs, and is authority on all matters pertaining to its early history.
Reuben and Batson Carroll settled near Jefferson Town- ship, perhaps the latter, in the spring of 1838, and at about the same time two brothers by the name of Bonn settled on the Missouri River below Amazonia, and secured a landing which was afterward known by the name of Bonn Town. Joseph Hunter, James Howell, Joseph Burnham and others, whose names have already been mentioned, were among the early settlers in the northern and western parts of Lincoln, and one of the early comers to the southern part was Peter Mosser, a native of Switzerland, who made an improvement half a mile east of Amazonia in 1841. Mr. Mosser was largely instru- mental in inducing many of his countrymen to seek homes in this part of the West, and to such he extended liberal aid. These immigrants, whom he assisted both by his advice and means, became in time very thrifty and prosperous citizens, and at this time a large portion of Lincoln Township is inhabited by a Swiss and German population.
Among the earliest settlers in the northwest part of Andrew County (Jackson Township) was John Lincoln, who made a home on the creek which bears his name, as long ago as 1838. He
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
moved here from Clay County, and was a resident of Andrew County until his death a few years ago. The mill he built on the creek, a few miles from the village of Fillmore, was one of the first enterprises of the kind in the county.
James Templer, in the fall of 1838, moved from Ohio, and set- tled the Joseph Berry farm near Fillmore, which he sold to Berry in 1850. Mr. Berry moved to the township in the spring of 1839, and has been an honored resident of the same ever since. He is an Ohioan, as were also many of the pioneers in the north- west part of the county. James Bradford and sons, James, John and Ezra, became residents of the township as early as 1839, set- tling about one mile south of Fillmore where another son, Jasper Bradford, now lives. The site of Fillmore was first settled by Levi Churchill, and among the earliest residents in the immedi- ate vicinity were Thomas Chambers, Andrew Chambers, Richard Dunn, James Dunn, Thomas Smither and others. In addition to the foregoing, the following came in an early day, and shared the hardships and privations incidental to pioneer life, viz. : John D. Castle, John H. Cole, Jesse and R. M. Cole, Benja- min Davis, Robert Davis, Enos Smither, John Smither, James Ken- yon, John Griffith, Bryant Owsley, William Owsley, John Owsley, James Owsley, Samuel Owsley, Campbell Chrissman, Rufus Ayres, Samuel Kenyon, Thompson Kenyon, John, Squire, Washington and Jefferson Griffith, O. Y. Gregory, Walter B. Wells, Edward Wade, Henry Bowers and sons, George and John Bowers, Allen Crook, Isaac Crook, Peter Wykoff, Mr. Harper, John Connolly, Mr. Bunday, Joel Estes, Ellis Snuffin, Dr. Whittington, Dr. Dosier, James Berry, Robert Berry, John Huffman, Sr., James Huffman, Elisha Huffman, George Huffman, David Wardlow, William Wardlow, John Hunt, Gabriel Chrissman, Holmes Rob- inson, George Fultz, Reuben Tipton, David Brock, David Best, Isaac Best, " Buck " Best, - Shoemaker, Samuel Shoemaker, Rufus Gregory, Frost Snow, Karens Laughlin, John Collins, Jesse Bird, Jacob Bird, J. E. Hare, James M. Gillespie, Harry Cole, Jerry Cole, Samuel Darnell, Thomas Darnell, Henry Duff, Benjamin Windom, A. W. Cornelison, James Whitton, Mr. Roark, Abel Bradford, Robert Davidson, Henry Bowers, William Flor- ence, Sylvester Florence, Cyrus Rohrer, Calvin Rohrer, Oliver
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
Kerr, Mr. Carriger, - Simerly, Frank Simerly, William Sim- erly and A. P. Ashley.
The following were among the early settlers of what is now Clay Township: Cephas P. Woodcock, James Duncan, Dr. John Pearson, Alfred Dyer, Albert G. Hollister, William Wade, Logan Dysart, Josiah Dysart, Finley Dysart, William McAllen, John McAllen, Mr. Dillon, William Pearson, - White, the Davis family, Mr. Barker, Sampson Pearson, Daniel Thomas, Allen Cox, James Allen, Jesse Lowe, William Lance, Benjamin Wardlow, Adam Lance, Ed. Owen, William Butts, William Stout, Lewis Jones, John McClasky, John Coffman, Allen Crook, John New- land, John Messick, Mr. Hiatt, Mr. Roach, John Long, David Lilly, Gabriel Slaughter, John Fortner, David Powers, John Powers, Mr. Lovelady, - Praiswater, William Deboard, Mr. Stobuck, William Wade, Ed. Wade, John Hayes, John White, Joel Estes, George McDaniel, Hood Allison, John Collins, Reuben Borden, "Breck " Goldsberry, the Blakely family, P. J. Perkins, Dr. Dozier, Claiborne Dyer, Miles Hale, William Wardlow and David Wardlow.
ROCHESTER AND MONROE.
This part of the county was settled in a very early day, and among the first pioneers was one Levi Thatcher, who laid claim to the land upon which the village of Rochester now stands, about the year 1838. He subsequently sold out to a Mrs. Kibby, whose sons afterward erected a mill on the Platte River which formed the nucleus of the town. The Kimberlins, John, Jacob, Ferdinand and George, were early residents, as were also Samuel Searles and sons, William, John, Joseph, James, and Samuel Searles. Charles Farris, Littleton Matthews, Joshua Matthews, Jonathan Simmons, Joshua Casebeer, C. Casebeer, Maj. Tate, Benjamin Piper, Sr., Benjamin Piper, Jr., came when the county was new, and assisted in its material development. Others who came from time to time were the following: Robert White and sons (John and Henry White), Mr. Bookam (early mer- chant in Rochester Village), Benjamin King, Carey Tate, Mr. Hungate, Henry T. Billis, Benjamin McCreary (an early justice of the peace ), Andrew Lykans, A. R. McDonald, Caleb Rinehart, Morgan Lewis, Z. F. Gillmore, Valentine Farrow, Alexander
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Graham, John B. Castle, Johnson King, Daniel Miller, Nehe- miah, John, Andrew, Edward Thompson, George and Henry Kel- ley, Henry Carson, George Brown, Samuel Brown, Greenup Gib- son, David McElroy, James Taylor, Rev. Thomas Clanton, Ezekiel Campbell and son, Andrew H. Campbell, Thomas Stout, Thomas Hobson, Elder Jordan Wright, Mr. Snowden and sons, James, Clay and Jonathan Snowden, James Parker, Daniel Parker, Breckenridge Beattie, Armstrong Beattie, James Beattie, Benjamin R. Holt, Hardin Dysart, Meek Dysart, Richard McManus, Samuel Hayes, Jarvis Smith, Joseph Smith, C. C. Smith, the Schneider family, the Schindler family, Arch. Lykans, - Parker and William Parker.
The following settlers came a little later, but can be appro- priately classed with the pioneers of the township: John Edmondson, William Caldwell and son, John R. Caldwell, Thom- as J. Patton, Columbus Patton, John Files, Thompson Fox, George Ruby, Jacob Gum, John McIninch, Mr. Shannon, Mr. Snyder, John Teschemier, John Spence, John W. Belton Will- iam Shreve, James D. Shreve, Abraham Bowman, Andrew Bow- man, Daniel Vestal, John Vestal, Samuel Gibson, L. Kirtley, James Wells, Simon Mackey, James F. Strock and Absalom Baker.
BENTON AND PLATTE.
The early pioneers of Andrew County, like the settlers in all new counties, sought the timber lands first, and seemed to have looked upon the prairies as unfit for the abode of man. A large portion of the present townships of Benton and Platte, being composed of prairie, was not settled as early as the southern part of the county, but in the timbered portions improvements were made as long ago as 1840-41, perhaps a little earlier than these dates.
The following were among the earliest settlers within the boundaries of the two townships: Robert Graham, John Kellogg, Ezra B. Kellogg, Joseph Relwader, Casper Bowman, John Price, Jesse Gilliam, John Gilliam, Redden A. Talle, W. B. Allen, William Southwood, John Chandler, Thomas Roberts, Nathaniel Kellogg, C. P. Miller, John Baum, A. F. Owen, Jonathan Todd, Robert Herren, Allen Ashley, Charles Bradshaw, Sylvester Lan-
.
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
ham, Bethel Allen, William Allen, Charles Merritt, Samuel T. Mason, John Upp, John D. Castle, Philip Briggs, William Briggs, Henry Briggs, Benjamin Ogle, Robert Atkinson, Andrew and Jacob Shepherd, Mr. Ferguson, John Ferguson, B. F. Neely, Joseph Williams, Henry Miller, Thomas Vaughn, James Neely, Neely, William Murden, John Wiles, Henry Best, George W. Vaught, Emanuel Best, John Best, Robert Davis, Fleming Davis, George Davis, Joseph Davis, - Davis, Joseph Rob -. bins, William Kelley, Nathan Sinal, William McBrien, Mr. Cop- ple, E. Smith, Elijah Copple, Mr. Wells, - Nichols, Mr. Gil- more, William Smith, John Monkres, John Patterson, Mr. Wilhelm, Mr. Christy, A. B. Johns, Abraham Stingley, Samuel Pistole, Harvey McPeters, John Chandler, Mr. Williams, Jona- than Rea, father of Hon. David and Judge Joseph Rea, Zacha- riah Richards, Caleb Richards, Ephraim Myers, Mr. Shelton, Elias Parker, James Philips, Martin Boyles, George Boyles, Jesse Gilliam, Mitchell Gilliam, Samuel Allen, V. Wilson, " Bird " Allen, Edward Wallace, James Neely, Frank Neely, Rev. Mr. Southwood, O. C. Roberts, John McDaniel, James Manela, William Combest, Thomas Jasper, James Rowe, Henry Meek, Samuel Meek, John S. Reno, Solomon Yates, Washington Yates, Samuel King, Lowry Smith, Berry Keywood, John Harris, S. Sollers, Stephen Gibbs, Carr Bailey, Rev. Anthony Clemens, Jeremiah Wilhite, Rev. Lewis Allen, Thomas K. Smith, A. J. Smith, Samuel McGowen, Robert Clemens, Eli Stingley, Enoch Shepherd, Adam Leader, George Leader, Samuel Allen, Ryall Allen, Harrison Stanley, Samuel Parrott, Rev. Mr. Johnson, Owen Caulfield, Nimrod Shepherd, Allen Holt, Jefferson Dougherty and Dr. Allen.
EMPIRE.
One of the first settlers in what is now Empire Township was Marshal McQuinn who, as early as 1839, pre-empted the farm . now owned by John White at Flag Springs, which he sold about ten years later to Samuel Meek. Mr. McQuinn was a native of Kentucky, but of his antecedents and history little is known, as he left the country as soon as he disposed of his claim. Mr. Meek improved the place, and resided upon the same until 1853, when he sold out to Mr. White, who had previously lived in what.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
is now Rochester Township, having been one of the earliest set- tlers of that part of the county. James Rowe settled a short dis- tance northwest of Flag Springs as early as 1840, and about the same time improvements were made in the same neighborhood by Mr. Gaddy, William Beagle, Martin Boyles, John A. Clark, James Clark, Joseph Snyder, - Snyder and others. George Boyles moved from Indiana about the year 1841, and purchased the Snyder place, upon which he lived till his death in 1879. His sons, M. B. and Oliver Boyles, are prominent residents of the township at this time, the latter living upon a part of the old homestead. Henry Eppler, in 1841, moved to the country, and purchased a claim upon which a small improvement had been previously made by a Mr. Brown, who made his appearance as early perhaps as 1839. Mr. Eppler was elected first surveyor of Andrew County, and is known to be the oldest resident of Empire Township now living. Solomon Yates, John Reno, Thomas Jasper, Samuel Allen, Stephen Beaty, Leonard Bowman, James Philips, Mr. Ellison, Henry Meek, Nathaniel Simpson, William Simpson and Richard Shepherd became residents early in the forties, and are remembered as among the most substantial and trustworthy citi- zens of the county.
The northern part of Empire, being almost exclusively prairie, was looked upon with suspicion by the early settlers, and it was not until in the fifties that the rich prairie lands began to be im- proved.
Additional to the foregoing lists the following, with many others whose names were not learned, came in an early day, and settled in different parts of the county, to wit: Mr. Sickles, Peter Monroe, Wilburn Lankford, the Ent family, Benjamin Riddle, the Truax family, William T. Rush, Hiram Smith, George Walters, E. Fuller, Elisha Walters, Benjamin Williams, James Davidson, Joel Guffey, James Morrison, Elias Pittman, S. Lawhorn, Archi- bald Stephenson, Amaziah Wilson, Alex. Graham, J. F. Cox, Will- iam Bowen, Henderson Hardesty, Elisha Bennett, William Baker, Andrew Pettyjohn, Silas Turner, - Riley, Joseph Robideaux, Jacob Hiltibiddle, Mr. Long, John Welsh, W. H. Rodgers, Joel Noland, James Johnson, Nathaniel Livingston, Zachariah More- land, Jonathan Ward, M. Pettyjohn, George Sizemore, R. W.
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
Morrison, David Best, John Harris, Samuel Smith, L. Martin, E. B. Kellogg, Marcus Miner, Samuel Davis, James Howell, Will- iam Stokes, James Dunlap, H. M. Cafferty, Obadiah Roberts, Jonathan Cobb, Daniel Hartman, S. Reynolds, John Williams, Thomas Ritchey, Conrad Travis and John Hardesty.
EARLY REMINISCENCES.
After the year 1844 the settlement of the county was quite rapid. A great many families came in, some from neighboring counties, and some direct from Kentucky, Tennessee and other States south and east. The early settlers sought the timber for various reasons. First, because as they had been reared in a timbered country they knew nothing of the prairie, and thought the soil too poor for the production of forests, and consequently too poor to be cultivated. Secondly, they thought it impossible to survive the cold winters in such an exposed situation. Thirdly, they preferred to remain where food was abundant. Fourthly, they concluded to locate near some water course. It is therefore seen that the very earliest pioneers preferred the timbered lands and selected their farms on streams where there were mill sites, and where springs of never-failing water issued from the ground. Some of the early settlers learned the value of the prairie lands, and resolutely pushed out on the broad expanse despite the oppo- sition of those who pretended to be wiser. Many of the first families merely squatted upon their farms, being too poor to pay the entry price until after the harvest of the first or second crop. Others had barely sufficient means to reach the new country, while a few had considerable means, and found it no difficult task to begin life in the backwoods.
The early pioneers of Andrew County brought but a meager outfit of this world's goods, but strong in faith and hope expected to increase their worldly stores and provide comfortable homes for their declining years. Some came in wagons drawn by horses and oxen, while some used the more primitive pack horse as the best means of migration. While on their journey, if away from a settled route, their encampment for the night was made where- ever darkness overtook them. A fire was kindled by the wayside,
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
over which an iron kettle, containing the evening meal, was hastily suspended. The father's gun through the day provided an abundance of fresh meat, as game was plentiful, and could be had for the mere trouble of shooting.
Seen through the rosy mists of memory the pioneer's journey to his new home may bring up pleasing scenes and agreeable reminiscenses; but at best it was an experience of toil and priva- tion, not unfrequently attended with dangers, before which the bravest hearted of the present day would shrink. There were no bridges across the streams which were frequently full to over- flowing. No well defined highway, each emigrant following the general trail or seeking a new route of his own. If the season was one of much rain, the low country they were compelled to cross would be almost impassable, the horses or oxen frequently miring in the soft soil while the wagons had to be pried out of the mud, a task requiring much hard work and patience. Most of the early settlers had but little to bring with them. Farming imple- ments, a few rude cooking utensils, a small stock of provisions, and the women and children were all that the emigrant found it necessary to provide for.
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